Ursinus College

Our second college search continues...

Jeremy clearly expressed an interest in seeing some schools closer to home, but in warmer climates than NYC. We have put together a list using CLTL as a guide, looking for small, nurturing places in PA and MD. And, because of his athletic commitments this spring, it seemed prudent to visit schools open to seeing juniors early in the year before the soccer club season starts. We were very lucky weather-wise today as it was a spring-like 50 degrees as we toured the school. Ursinus was sunny and livened up as students emerged from their dorms to head to brunch at the main dining area. Jeremy, his cousin Celeste, and I were guided through the campus by a lovely junior named Kristin who was frank, informative and very friendly. This was Celeste's first formal tour and it was evident how much she enjoyed seeing the school. Highlights for both prospective students were the special freshman two-semester CIE seminar, the possible majors and class offerings, the housing options, the size, look and feel of the campus, and the friendliness of everyone we met today.
More photos of Ursinus:

Swarthmore

After we finished at Bryn Mawr, we drove down 476 to Swarthmore. For lunch, we ate snacks in the car, and got to Swarthmore just in time for a 1:00 pm info session. We had to find Parrish Hall, which is tricky, and far from the parking lot. I dropped Elsa off and then parked in the nearest street spot that seemed legal. The Info session was very well attended. There must have been 40 or 50 families there. It was fun and genuine, although the student representative, Linda, is frighteningly accomplished. The admissions dean who spoke is as fun and cheery as the one at Haverford, making me suspicious about their demeanor. They are so happy you came and hope you'll apply, as though that's all you need to do to attend their school!

I have to say, Elsa is owed one big, "I told you so!" and/or, "Aren't you glad you listened to your mom?" She didn't even want to go to Swarthmore after what she'd heard about the rigor and how difficult it is to get in. But after our visit, she loves it and wants to apply. We thoroughly enjoyed the info session and really liked Ryan, the admissions officer who presented. Then we met Alisha, our tour guide, and she was even more fun. This helped quell our fears about Swatties being unhappy people as a group. Alisha addressed questions about these rumors and recommended spreading out the heavier classes over the four years and include something each term which requires less reading, such as art studio.

The campus is magnificent. It's even more beautiful that Bryn Mawr, and feels much bigger than Haverford. Like Haverford, Swarthmore, (everyone knows I'm sure,) is an arboretum. It's a giant botanic garden where every plant on the grounds is labeled. The landscaping is breathtaking all over the campus. Elsa's favorite part of the campus is the amphitheater in the woods.

Alisha told us all about the orientation ceremony that happens there, which sounds cool. The theater is reminiscent of a clearing in the woods at Dark Waters, a Quaker camp that Elsa attended years ago in New Jersey. Alisha showed us the science center, complete with the outdoor classroom,





(my favorite aspect of the school,) a classroom, a dorm room, a science lab (we met a profesor,) a dining room, and one of the libraries where cookies are dispensed at 10:30. We had a great tour. Again, we had to leave early to meet the coach.


Coach Todd's office is in the athletic center. A kind woman walked Elsa over as she had no map. (People outside of NY are so friendly!)I walked back to the car to get Elsa's information to give to the coach. Coach Todd is wonderful and talked a lot about his program, his goals for the program, his team, exciting games, their best competition, etc. We had a nice long meeting which had to end because he was about to have a practice. On our way out, we met some of his players and Coach Todd kindly introduced Elsa.


We walked back to the car and drove off, in search of dinner. We were starved! Of course, I got lost and couldn't find the road to the town of Swarthmore (is there a real town? We never found it.) and to Media, Pa. On our journey, we passed the field and Elsa saw the girls practicing. We pulled over, and like stalkers, watched for a while to see how strong the girls are. We didn't see them do much, just some drills. Happily, Elsa felt that she could fit in with the team. We're hoping she will get the chance to find out.

Bryn Mawr

The MAPS tournament and Easter postponed the continuation of our April tour until the 13th. Bright and early Monday morning, we set off for Swarthmore and were shooting to attend a 10:00 am tour and information session. However, we left later than planned and hit spots of heavy traffic, delaying our arrival just long enough to make us late. As I was speeding down 476, we passed the road to Bryn Mawr and Haverford, and I had the idea to reverse the order of the two schools. This worked out well as neither was expecting us at a particular time.

Bryn Mawr is beautiful. It's actually much bigger than it looked when we first drove around the week before. The information session was an informal talk, seated around a wooden table above a Persian rug in a wood paneled room in the rear of the admissions office. We were joined by another mother/daughter duo and an international student and an admissions officer. They were helpful and informative. After about an hour, we met Julia, our tour guide, who took us all over campus and showed us her favorite spots. We saw a classroom, a dormroom, the fountain where Katherine Heperin skinny dipped in the Cloisters, the science center, the library, Athena, the statue, and other places of note around campus.


One thing that was apparent to Elsa and to me is the importance of traditions and ceremonies at Bryn Mawr. We thought that this would appeal to our neighbor, Molly, very much. We're not sure it's Elsa.

Elsa had been in touch with the soccer coach who was out of town but returning that evening. She offered to meet with us late, after 6:30! But we were leaving the Philadelphia area for Lancaster so we were not able to meet with her. I actually think it's just as well as Elsa will not be applying.

Oneonta

Elsa and I left Binghamton, grabbed some lunch and drove like mad 60 miles north on route 88 to Oneonta. Sadly, the 2 o'clock information session we were in a hurry to attend actualy began at 1 and we missed it. We met the presenter as she was walking out the door having tried to find her in two different locations (across campus.) We signed in late and began to give ourselves a self guided tour. At the library, we happened upon a tour in progress, led by Alice, a knowledgable and very clear junior who welcomed us and told us many things about Oneonta.


Here is what I thought: Although modern in architecture, the campus has a pleasant leafy feel, even in winter. The building are atractive and there is a lot of light. The althletic center is amazing, and the soccer team looks extremely successful-they were NCAA champions in 2003. One negative, the freshmen courseload is dictated by the college. Students can only select one of their five classes the first year. Majors, again, seem funtional rather than intellectual. But overall, it was a relief to find a SUNY school that we could see Elsa, and certainly Jeremy, go to.
This is a photo of one beautiful dining room in a residence caled Hubert, I think. I thought it looked like a lovely place to eat and to sit and study. Elsa likes Oneonta better than Binghamton but wasn't blown away. We met the soccer coach and had a lovely meeting with her. She told us all about the soccer program at Oneonta and how important women's soccer is to the school. She told us about their training schedule and how players are supported by their professors and are allowed to miss class on Fridays when the team has to travel, etc. She asked Elsa lots of questions and told her that she would try to come and see her play soccer this spring. We liked the coach a lot.
Elsa's overall rating: 4.5-5. My rating: 7.

The February Northern College Tour: Binghamton

During the February winter break from NYC public schools, Elsa and I embarked on a five day, eight college tour of what I call our "northern schools." Our tour began with three SUNY schools: Binghamton, Oneonta and New Paltz in upstate New York.


We left New York City on Sunday, 2/15 and traveled with our friends and neighbors, Jennifer and Sophia. We shared a hotel room in Binghamton, or Vestal, actually, and signed up for a 10 am tour on Monday, Presidents Day. Binghamton is a Divison 1 school for athletics, which, for Elsa, means that she is probably not going to be a recruit for their soccer team. For this reason, I sort of had to drag her to see this school. None of us were really expecting this to be THE school, but we felt as a SUNY school with a good reputation, we had to see it. Jennifer's approach was a wise one. Her plan was to ask Sophia, "What DID you like about the school?" Here's what I thought: The presentation, the information session was excellent. I felt the whole event was well organized. There were plenty of student volunteers, there was nearby complimentary parking, and we signed in quickly and got materials. The presenter was well spoken, organized and had a nice power point presentation. It seemed that the bulk of it was, however, exactly the same as a glossy brochure we were handed, which we are capable of reading ourselves. The overall message I got from Binghamton is that the school ranks well in many college ranking magazines, top three this, best four in that, yada, yada. It seems graduates are well prepared for the work force as many degrees seem to track students right into the job market: nursing, education, engineering, etc. The killer was the list of salaries which graduates from many heavy hitter schools earn in their first post-college year. Binhamton's are reported to be the highest, making this education the biggest bang for your buck.

Our tour guide, Robbie, an accounting junior, was cheerful and semi-knowledgeable. The campus tour, however, seemed endless to me (and to Elsa and Sophia) because of the size of the campus and the pace and content of Robbie's shpiel. While Robbie generously showed us his own dorm room and introduced us to his brother, he also loved pregnant pauses and used them frequently to allow visitors to think of questions to ask about the school. The Binghamton campus is amazingly, completely cement. Interestingly, the school got a 99 rating for it's greeness and recycling program. The school even composts, which is a foreign concept to Robbie, but there is nary a tree-oaky, I'm exaggerating, there are a few baby saplings on campus-but they do not off set the overwhelimg presence of austere, oppresive bland block-like buildings on campus. But, here's what I did like: Binghamton is serious about recycling and has structures in place to help students do so, it has a great transportation system for students to get around campus and to get to LI or NYC, and we were told that freshmen can participate in hands on research projects with their professors. Elsa's comment was that Binghamton didn't seem as big as it is when we were there. Our friend Sarah attends the school and likes it a lot. Elsa and I were eager to leave to drive an hour or so to Oneonta. We thanked Robbie and took off. In fairness to Binghamton, we never saw the actual downtown. Frighteningly, we were told by a student guide that the "miracle mile" of fast food restaurants and malls was the town, but I'm sure this can't be so.

Elsa's overall rating, on a scale of 1 to 10: 3. Mine, 5.

The College Search

My daughter, Elsa, is a junior in high school. We decided to begin our college search early because so many of Elsa's weekends are tied up with soccer games.

Our first college visit was to Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. Elsa had attended a summer soccer camp and met members of the soccer team who invited her to see a game and visit the school. Elsa happened not to have a tournament Columbus Day weekend, so we drove upstate and spent the night in a local motel.

Skidmore is beautiful, especially at this time of the year. The town of Saratoga Springs is beyond cute and inviting, and it is evident that the town appreciates the college and its students. Elsa and I had breakfast in an adorable but expensive patisserie in town and then went to a brunch hosted by the women's varsity soccer team in a tiny off campus house in town. We met many players and chatted with parents who were very friendly and offered helpful advice about the college application process for an athlete.

After the brunch, Elsa and I headed to the campus for a tour. We had a lively and friendly guide who is a sophomore. We saw the entire campus, including a few sample dorm rooms. I had been warned that some of the architecture was modern and not so attractive, but I felt that the there was a nice blend of new and old style buildings and that the campus was overall asthetically pleasing. The school felt very small and intimate to me. It seems relaxed and friendly, and I kept thinking that it would be a perfect fit for my son. I was pleased that non music majors can play in bands, for example, and non drama majors can audition for a play. The school felt cozy.

After our tour, Elsa and I had a bite of lunch in a cute local sandwich/salad spot and then headed to the field for the game. Skidmore was playing Hobart and Williams and tied, just unable to penetrate the H&W defense. After the game, we chatted with the players and the coach and complimented the team on their efforts. The coach told Elsa that if she liked the school, that she should-crap-this is important and now I've forgotten what she said-oh, I think she said that Elsa should forward her transcripts and then set up an interview in the spring. I'm not sure of the timeline of how this all works, but I'll keep posting as I learn.